Debates by the Orion Township Board of Trustees have been known to take over an hour, but rarely do they get as heated as the one regarding Township investments did at the March 20 meeting.
Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk asked for an investigation into how the Township’s funds are being invested, and also whether commissions were earned by an investment consultant.
He asked for the investigation to be conducted by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department.
However, the board voted to give Treasurer Alice Young another chance to explain the situation to board members before they take formal action.
The discussion at the March 20 meeting was the first time the board met publicly about the investments issue, first reported in The Lake Orion Review on March 15.
In that article, The Review explained that Young had invested just over 11 percent of the Township’s total $70 million to be invested, in mutual funds of government bonds.
Young’s daughter-in-law, Diane Young of the Athena Group, was contracted by the Township to be an investments consultant, and was to be paid up to $5,000.
The question of concern is whether Diane Young earned commissions on the investments, which the Township Board has said was not their understanding of the original contract.
The Board has held two confidential meetings on the issue in the past, but it has yet to be cleared up.
‘It appeared that this issue had been put under the covers, and it hasn’t,? said Trustee Mike Gingell.
At the heart of the debate were Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk and Treasurer Young.
Young read from a two and a half page, prepared statement at the meeting.
Clerk Jill Bastian took notes, remaining somewhat out of the conversation. She did accuse Dywasuk of lying, and said she would make a public statement at a later time, if need be.
It was a worker in the Clerk’s office who first brought up the investments concerns, and Bastian noted at the meeting that she is trying to stay out of the issue due to a ‘conflict of interest.?
Two unanswered questions appear to be at the center of why the topic has not yet been resolved: Did the Township enter into an illegal contract with Diane Young in the first place, and who paid the commissions to her?
A contract saying commissions could be earned, whether illegal or not, was signed by both Dywasuk and Bastian.
Dywasuk said that contract, which was written by Diane Young, was never seen by the Township’s attorney.
‘An investigation will reveal that neither Diane Young nor I have done anything wrong or illegal,? Young said in her statement at the meeting.
‘I was totally up-front with our relationship, and even abstained from the vote to engage her. You signed Diane’s contract, Mr. Dywasuk, that stated that commissions could be earned.?
The Township Board originally approved hiring Diane Young to provide consulting services for Township investments at the Dec. 20, 2004 board meeting.
At that time, Young did disclose that Diane was her daughter-in-law, and abstained from the vote.
Both Young and her daughter-in-law have stated numerous times that the commissions of just over $60,000 were not paid by the Township.
Trustee Matthew Gibb said seeing something on paper to this effect would ‘put my mind at ease.?
Deputy Supervisor Jill Verros said the commissions had to come from somewhere.
‘These mutual fund dealers don’t just have a magic bag of money to pay their commissions,? she said. ‘One way or another, that money is coming from the Township.?
Dywasuk said the relationship between the three full-time elected officials on the Board has been severely strained by the matter.
‘The longer this drags out, the messier it gets,? he said. ‘This is not going to get cleared up unless there is an investigation.?
‘Except for the expense of taxpayers? dollars, I welcome an investigation,? Young said in her statement.
OCSD Lieutenant Bruce Naile, commander of the Orion Substation, was on hand at the meeting to comment about what an investigation by his department would include.
Naile said that a special investigation unit in Pontiac would handle the case, and report its findings to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Gibb noted that an investigation through the county would probably take months to complete.
Ultimately, the Board rejected Dywasuk’s motion for an investigation.
Gingell made a motion, which passed unanimously, to take comments from all of the board members and accumulate a letter to send to Young.
He hoped putting the concerns on paper and getting a return correspondence would clear up the issue once and for all.